1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a self-heatable container. The field of the invention is that of the preparation of containers intended to contain food products, especially beverages, soups and the like, which can be consumed at a temperature greater than room temperature and in any place, particularly when specific heating means are not available.
2. Description of Related Art
Several types of self-heatable containers provided with incorporated means for the local generation of heat in order to increase the temperature of a beverage up to a certain value are known. Among these are those described in PCT published application WO03/064283.
The models of containers provided with incorporated heating means which have been disclosed have certain drawbacks, such as their complex structure demanding complicated and therefore expensive manufacturing processes. In addition, some types described in patents have a questionable suitability, given the technical difficulty in maintaining the constitutive parts thereof hermetically joined.
In other cases, the functional and shape design of the proposed containers is scarcely suitable for the intended purpose.
There currently exist several models of self-heatable containers, for example Scudder, U.S. Pat. No. 6,266,879, which provides a plastic container with a double bottom which supports the inner body containing the reagent product. At the same time a certain amount of water is placed in another smaller body, which when it comes in contact with the reagent produces an exothermic reaction that causes the inner body to heat at high temperature and that heats the consumable included in the outer container. When the container is made of plastic, it is easy to manufacture, but there is an important risk due to the high temperature reached. Fissures or punctures or distortions might appear in the container containing the reactive product, such that the reactive product might come into contact with the consumable, making it unfit for consumption.
Metal containers for beer and soft drinks that contain carbon dioxide must work without leakage of any kind, in particular when the container is shaken and the gas fizzes and the pressure increases on the inside. These containers have a closed lid which is fixed by a double fold of both elements about themselves, for example in Beckertgis, U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,472 a closure of this kind is described.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a container provided with its own heating means, which has a suitable structure and is easy to use and which reaches temperature levels suitable for the type of product contained relatively quickly.